US, Beijing Spar Over Who Won WTO Case

针对世界贸易组织(WTO)就一项因DVD音乐书籍和其他版权保护产品遭盗版而引发争议所做的裁决，美中两国上周五做出了不同的解读。WTO批准了较早时的一项裁决，对中国的知识产权保护工作挑了些毛病，但并未全盘否定。虽然向WTO起诉中国这些盗版问题的是布什政府，但奥巴马政府已经保证，在贸易问题上甚至会对中国采取更强硬的立场。奥巴马政府刚获国会批准的贸易代表罗恩•科克(Ron Kirk)上周五表示，他希望中国迅速采取措施遵守WTO这一裁决，朝解决中国持续存在的仿冒和盗版问题迈出积极一步。中国则对WTO的这一裁决做出了不同解读。商务部发言人姚坚在一份声明中说，WTO在裁决中驳回了美方的大多数指控。姚坚为中国的知识产权保护体系作了辩护，他说，中方一贯主张，加强对话与合作应成为世界知识产权保护的潮流。美中双方都未对WTO早些时候的裁决提出上诉，这一初裁于今年1月份做出，它并未全部认同美方提出的指控。华盛顿咨询机构WorldTradeLaw.net LLC的首席行政官西蒙•赖斯特(Simon Lester)说，这件事的重要意义在于没人提出上诉。欧盟不是本案的原告，但一直在关注案情的进展，它的一位官员说，欧盟对加强保护知识产权保护执法工作的任何努力都表示欢迎。美国于2007年针对中国的知识产权保护工作向WTO提出起诉，称中国的相关执法工作存在三个结构性问题。据美国贸易代表办公室说，WTO的裁决小组在这三个问题上有两个支持美方的观点，而最终裁决的做出意味着WTO所有成员也支持美方的这两个观点。WTO发现，中国的版权法对不符合该国“内容评估”标准的作品未能提供足够的保护。WTO还认为，中国海关在处置违反知识产权法律的商品方面法规不够充足。姚坚说，WTO的专家组强调，其裁决不影响中国的内容审查权。美国贸易代表办公室说，WTO表示，在确定中国有关盗版和仿冒的刑事执法标准是否足够严厉方面，它还需要更多证据。美国一直抱怨说，DVD音乐书籍和其他版权保护产品在中国存在被盗版的问题，国际知识产权联盟(International Intellectual Property Alliance)估计，每年的盗版金额超过35亿美元。Tom Barkley / Min Zeng相关阅读微软：11名中国人因盗版获刑 2009-01-02迪士尼打击中国网络盗版行路难 2008-11-24


The U.S. and China sparred Friday over a World Trade Organization ruling in a dispute about piracy of DVDs, music, books and other copyright products.The WTO ratified an earlier decision that faulted some, but not all, of China's protections for intellectual property.The case was brought by the Bush administration, but President Barack Obama has pledged to take an even tougher line on trade with China.Mr. Obama's newly confirmed trade representative, Ron Kirk, said Friday he looks 'forward to China's prompt compliance with the WTO's rulings in this dispute as a positive step toward addressing the continuing challenges of counterfeiting and piracy in China.'China interpreted the ruling differently. Yao Jian, spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, said in a statement that the WTO rebutted most of the U.S. claims.Mr. Yao defended China's intellectual-property system, saying the country has 'consistently proposed that strengthening dialogue and cooperation should become the trend for global efforts to protect intellectual-property rights.'Neither side appealed the earlier finding, which was issued in January, even though it was a split decision.'The significance of today is that nobody appealed, said Simon Lester, chief administrator for Washington-based WorldTradeLaw.net LLC, a consultancy.An official from the European Union, which was an observer and not a complainant in the dispute, said, 'We obviously welcome any enforcement of intellectual-property rights.'The U.S. filed the claim in 2007, citing three structural problems in China's enforcement laws. The panel, and now the WTO members, sided with the U.S. on two of these, according to the USTR.The WTO found that Chinese copyright law doesn't provide adequate protection for works that don't meet the country's 'content review' standards. On another area, the WTO group said China's customs rules for disposing of goods that violate intellectual-property rights laws were insufficient.Mr. Yao said 'the panel has emphasized in their findings that their decisions won't affect China's rights to censor content.'Meanwhile, the WTO said it needed more evidence to determine whether China's criminal enforcement standards for piracy and counterfeiting aren't stringent enough, according to the USTR.The U.S. has long complained about piracy of DVDs, music, books and other copyright products in China, which the International Intellectual Property Alliance estimates exceeds $3.5 billion a year.Tom Barkley / Min Zeng